Professional Culture Compatibility and Performance in International Joint Ventures: A Chinese Experience

This research was influenced by Sirmon & Lane's (2004) model of cultural differences and international alliance performance. Sirmon & Lane's model introduced the concept and importance of partners' professional culture compatibility in international alliances. However, to date, their model lacks empirical testing. This research therefore took the study further by empirically investigating the influence of professional culture compatibility between partners and international alliance performance by using a selected sample of Sino-Foreign joint ventures in China. The findings overall support Sirmon & Lane's (2004) model that (1) Partners from similar national cultures experience lesser differences in their professional cultures as opposed to partners from diverse cultures; and, (2) Professional culture differences between partners negatively influence the overall performance of international joint ventures. However, this research also argues that the relationships shown in Sirmon & Lane's (2004) model are not as straightforward as was previously proposed, and the findings suggest several additional factors that contribute to the relationship between partner professional culture compatibility and international alliance performance.